Humanism, Secularism, Feminism

Taslima Nasreen

Taslima Nasreen, an award-winning writer, physician, secular humanist and human rights activist, is known for her powerful writings on women oppression and unflinching criticism of religion, despite forced exile and multiple fatwas calling for her death. In India, Bangladesh and abroad, Nasreen’s fiction, nonfiction, poetry and memoir have topped the best-seller’s list.

Taslima Nasreen was born in Bangladesh. She started writing when she was 13. Her writings won the hearts of people across the border and she landed with the prestigious literary award Ananda from India in 1992. Taslima won The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament in 1994. She received the Kurt Tucholsky Award from Swedish PEN, the Simone de Beauvoir Award and Human Rights Award from Government of France, Le Prix de l' Edit de Nantes from the city of Nantes, France, Academy prize from the Royal Academy of arts, science and literature from Belgium. She is a Humanist Laureate in The International Academy for Humanism,USA. She won Distinguished Humanist Award from International Humanist and Ethical Union, Free-thought Heroine award from Freedom From Religion foundation, USA., IBKA award, Germany,and Feminist Press Award, USA . She got the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh prize for Promotion of the Tolerance and Non-violence in 2005. She received the Medal of honor of Lyon. She got honorary citizenship from Paris, Nantes, Lyon, Metz, Thionville, Esch etc. Taslima was awarded the Condorcet-Aron Prize at the “Parliament of the French Community of Belgium” in Brussels and Ananda literary award again in 2000.

Bestowed with honorary doctorates from Gent University and UCL in Belgium, and American University of Paris and Paris Diderot University in France, she has addressed gatherings in major venues of the world like the European Parliament, National Assembly of France, Universities of Sorbonne, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, etc. She got fellowships as a research scholar at Harvard and New York Universities. She was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in the USA in 2009.

Taslima has written 35 books in Bengali, which includes poetry, essays, novels and autobiography series. Her works have been translated in thirty different languages. Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh. Because of her thoughts and ideas she has been banned, blacklisted and banished from Bengal, both from Bangladesh and West Bengal part of India. She has been prevented by the authorities from returning to her country since 1994, and to West Bengal since 2007.

The link between blasphemy and cancer

A few weeks ago, doctors found a tiny tumour in my breast. I was worried. I was desperate to know whether it was benign or malignant. Biopsy result showed it was a benign tumour, not malignant, and I wouldn’t even need any treatment for it.

But the fanatics didn’t like the news that I didn’t have cancer. They started spreading lies, that I got cancer. Then of course the Islamic scientists discovered the reason behind my so called cancer. They said it was my blasphemous acts that caused me cancer. They are saying that because I criticize Islam, Allah has given me cancer, I will soon burn in hell. They believe if anyone commits sin, he/she gets cancer.

I am relieved because my breast tumour is benign, not malignant, but I know I can have cancer any day. The incidence of cancer is increasing in the subcontinent. It is interesting to see how Muslim fanatics link sin and cancer with blasphemy. Some comments in a Bangladesh’s newspaper are hilarious. Commenters are just haters. They get extremely happy knowing that I have been suffering from ‘cancer’. They said, I got breast cancer, because my breasts were touched by many men. I know that If I get uterus cancer, they would say, because I believe in women’s right over their own body including uterus, Allah has given cancer in my uterus. If I get brain cancer, they would say, because I use my brain against Islam, Allah has given cancer in my brain. If I get cancer in my hands, they would say, I write against Islam, so Allah has given cancer in my hands. My body becomes very important for Muslim fanatics to prove that Allah exists.

Atheism and humanism encourage me to be kind and nice. Religious beliefs make people hateful, nasty and cruel. I would feel very sad even if my enemy gets cancer, but religious people dance with happiness to celebrate my illness. There is no relation between cancer and blasphemy, but it seems there is a relation between religion and barbarity.

Comments

A big HaHaHa… fantastic post. Such fanatic fabricated news about ur illness proves that their allah needs atheist body so much to prove his existence.only by death and destruction his ‘peaceful’ religion and its godmen pace out..thats why many tweeples even got surprised to see u alive. And u said ”I resurrected”.haha.. anyway, now pranks of mullahs met a shocking defeat. i m sure. Lolzz

Its so ignorant to think like this. How can blasphemy will be reason for cancer? Its nothing but lack of knowledge. What we can do is only fell pity for such people and bring best human from within us.

i hope you’re doing well. You seemed thoughtful which is totally normal in youre situation. I wish you all the best
and I hope that your haters get theyre stupid mouth shut, I don’t wish them cancer because my father died of it. But that they’re happy about it shows that they don’t have any empathy anymore. You’re doing more than great, remember that.